Propeller-shaft hanger.



R. A. PATRICK.

PROPELLER SHAFT HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1911.

1 175,288. Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPi-l co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT ALFRED PATRICK, F FREEPORT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO COLUMBIAN BRASS FOUNDRY, ,OF FREEPORT, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

rEorELLEn-sHAET HANGER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. PATRICK, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a citizen of Canada, residing at Freeport,

5 county of Queens, and State of New York,

' the propeller a shaft hanger'or strut is secured t0 the boat body and carries a shaft bearing. Heretofore it has been difiicult to secure the proper alinement of-the shaft in a said bearing and to maintain such alinement through the varying stresses which are brought on theshaft and on the boat hull.

Particularly in high-speed motor boats it is difficult to maintain the proper almement ofthe propeller shaft and the shaft hanger orstrut which extends below the boat body. This is diflicult, first, by reason of the great vibration in the boat body of high speed boats; and second, because of the tendency of the boat body to buckle or to be slightly distorted longitudinally. These two causes bring about a change in the angular relation of the axial line ofthe propeller shaft and the boat body. It is, therefore, manifest that in those forms of struts or shaft hangers in which the shaft bearing is rigidly fixeo there is a constant binding or crowding :of the shaft in said bearing. .Another objectionto this rigid form of shaft hanger is the difficulty of alining the bearing with the shaft in the first instance,'that' is to say .in the installation of the shaft and the shaft hanger.

It is the main object of this invention to Y .provide a shaft hanger in which the bearing is mounted as a universal or ball-and-socket joint so that the bearing will automatically adjust itself to the proper alinement with the shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a ball-and-socket connection between the bearing and the strut or shaft and at the same time. e manentiy Specification of Letters Patent. 7 aL 19-16 Application filed February 15, 1911. 'SeriaiNo. 608,739. i

connect the bearing with the shaft hanger Y without employing bolts or nuts, or a separable or two-part inclosing means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bearing having a spherical enlargement and to cast about said spherical enlargement a one-piece hanger 0r strut and to maintain between the hanger and the said spherical enlargement sufiicient space to permit of the universal movement of ing in the hanger.

A further object of the invention isto provide a simple and practical method of casting the hanger or strut about the bearing so that the'bearing will be looselyinclosed by the hanger but will be permanently connected thereto. 7

Other important objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter. In the, drawings: Figure 1 is a side'elevation of a motor boat fitted with my improved shaft hanger; Fig. 2 a side elevation of the shaft hanger, the shaft bearing and the inclosing portion of the hanger being shown in vertical sectionalview; Fig. 3 a vertical transverse sectional view of the hanger and the bearing taken on the line III.III of Fig. 2. V

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1 designates the propeller shaft, and

2 the propeller on the rear end thereof. The shaft hanger3 is bolted to the underside of the boat near the stern thereof and. is

formed'with the tubular portion 4 at its lower end. The interior of this tubular part is concave, and fitting snugly therein is the spherical enlargement 6 of the shaft bear ing 7. The spherical enlargement of the bearing is designed to have a universal movement withinv the shaft hanger so that the axial line of the bearing may be varied with respect to the axis of the tubular part of the hanger. 'The bearing 7'is formed with the annular interior cavity 8 designed to receive lubrica ting material. V

Thehanger is cast about the tubular en- "largement of the bearing so that the two parts are permanently connected together while at the sametime "the bearing may be Iswung' in the hanger to vary its angular. rellfitiOIlWiflll-IOSPQO torthehangeri.

the bearmetal flowing therein.

The advantages of a shaft hanger of the construction just described are manifest. The bearing is secured in place in the hanger without the use of bolts or nuts or other clamping means, and the hanger or strut is reduced to the smallest possible dimensions consistent'with the required strength for binding or crowding of the shaft in the bearing.

In order that I may cast the shaft hanger or strut about the-bearing part I first finish the bearing by turning it in a lathe or otherwise operating thereon to render the en- Th1s spherical en-:

largement 6 spherical. largement is then coated to the required depth with graphite or plumbago, or similar lubricating material which will not be vaporized by the heat of the molten metal which is to be poured about the hearing. The bearing piece with its coatingof graphite. or similar material, is then heated in order to expand it and free thecoatin g from any surplus moisture therein which might be vaporized by the molten metal. \Vhile the bearing piece is in this heated condition it-is placed'in a mold and the strut orhanger cast about'it while it is hot. The ends of the bearing piece are filled with suitable material to prevent any possibility of understood that under ordinary conditions the metal will not flow outside of the proper mold cavities formed for it, I preferably cast the strut of metal which is capable of a slight stretching or extension while it is cooling. I a have found that manganese bronze gives very satisfactory results in this respect. By using such a metal. heating the bearing piece to expand it and providing thecoating of plumbago or similar material, the cast metal strut'or hanger is prevented from bindingor becoming fixed to the bearing piece. The plumbago forms a lubricating spacing means 1 between the bearing piece and the strut which is not destroyed by the molten metal but which at the same time is not bound. either to the molten metal or to the bearing piece. lVhen the parts are cooled said plumbago coating acts in the manner of a lubricant between the two metal partsso that the bearing part maybe moved within the strut or hanger sufiiciently to armetal of the hanger. In addition, the metal It will of course be that when the strut or hanger has cooled the bearing part is permanently locked within the tubular part of the hanger and that it will not require any form of fastening on securing means to retain it therein.

It is to be noted that by first heating the bearing part befo'rethe strut or hunger is cast about it the said bearing part will be expanded and its contraction while cooling will to a large extent permit of thecontraction of the hanger in cooling without causing the hanger to bind rigidly on the bearing. It is also to be noted that byreason of the coating of plumbago or other suitable material the metal of the hanger does not. contact with the metal of the bearing,and that, therefore, the two metals can not become fixed to each other. The coating .or non-fusible spacing material will undoubtv edly be slightly compressed .or forced out from between the two parts by reason of the cooling of the metal of the hanger, thereby v relieving tosome extent thestrain on .the

of the hanger must be such that it will be capable of a slight stretching while cooling Y so that as it contracts around the spherical part of the bearing thetubular part of the hanger will not be broken ,but will be; slightly expanded to accommodate itselfto the enlargement of the bearing.

It is manifest that without the use of some nonefu'sible spacing material between the bearing and the hanger the two parts would r be rigidly locked together when the metal of the hanger cooled.

l/Vhile I have found plumbagoor graphite It is also manifest that while the jinven tion is particularly well-adapted .to shaft hangers or struts for the propeller shafts of motor boats it may be-used for other purposes and I do not wish to be limited in this respect;

The process ,ofmanufacturing shaft hang ers described herein will form the subject matter of a divisional application in which application the process will be-claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention. what I claim as new,'and desire to-secure by Letters Patent-is:

A shaft hangencomprising a rigid strut in the form of a thin vertical web formed with an integral substantially horizontal tubular retaining part at its lower end, said tubular part having a continuous annular wall and being circular "in transverse section and concave in longitudinal section to-adapt 1 it to receive a spherical part, the axis :of said tubular partbeing ina vertical plane passtegral wall of the tubular part of the strut s and having a working fit therein, said bear- ROBERT ALFRED PATRICK ing part being capable of a universal move- Witnesses: ment Within the tubular part of the strut J. ALEXANDER VVHITTON, whereby said tubular bearing part will as- LLOYD R. CUTLER.

ing centrally and longitudinally through the sume the required angle to adapt itself to 10 strut, and a one-piece tubular bearing part the shaft extending therethrough.

formed with a spherical enlargement per- In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my manently inclosed Within the continuous insignature in the presence of two Witnesses.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

1 Washington, D. C. 

